Although They're Mentally ill, They're Extremely Easy to Comfort - Chapter 60

Ling Xi, who didn’t understand what was happening, stood stunned at the doorway. Her gaze fell upon Qiao Bo’er forcefully grasping Lin Fangwan’s hand, refusing to let go.

Then she looked at the bright red palm print on Lin Fangwan’s face, instantly igniting a furious rage in her heart.

Ling Xi rushed to Qiao Bo’er, violently pushed her hand away, and instinctively shielded Lin Fangwan behind her.

“Qiao Bo’er, what are you doing!”

Lin Fangwan covered her cheek, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, looking utterly pitiful: “Don’t blame Miss Qiao, I said things I shouldn’t have. It’s my fault.”

“Even if you said something wrong, she shouldn’t have hit you!”

Ling Xi absolutely refused to accept that excuse. Turning back to look at Lin Fangwan’s face, the horrifying palm print was a shocking sight. She carefully touched it: “Does it hurt?”

“It’s okay, I don’t want everyone to be upset.” Lin Fangwan’s manipulative skill was at its peak, and those few words only added fuel to the fire.

Faced with Lin Fangwan’s unscrupulous methods, Qiao Bo’er also gave up all pretense and sneered mockingly: “Such a lowlife.”

This remark undoubtedly completely ignited the suppressed anger in Ling Xi’s heart. She took Lin Fangwan’s hand and prepared to leave: “We can’t enjoy this meal. Wanwan, let’s go.”

Hearing the commotion in the corridor, Qin Yun rushed in, looking bewildered at the three people confronting each other: “What happened?”

Ling Xi couldn’t be bothered to explain, insisting on taking Lin Fangwan out of the restaurant.

Qiao Bo’er angrily sank back into her chair. Qin Yun probably guessed what had happened, so she looked around the private room and shrugged helplessly: “They didn’t install surveillance cameras.”

“Lin Fangwan chose this place; she knew full well.”

“It seems she’s already begun her moves. You’re at a disadvantage now.”

Qiao Bo’er wasn’t angry at Ling Xi. After all, from Ling Xi’s perspective, she was the malicious schemer now. She just muttered to herself: “I must return to Florence.”

“What do you mean?” Qin Yun frowned. Qiao Bo’er picked up her phone, ready to call Qu Ye: “Lin Fangwan admitted herself that Qiao Di is backing her.”

“That damned bastard, why won’t he leave you alone!”

“The score between him and me won’t be settled unless I deal with it once and for all.”

“Sick pervert!”

“Let’s go, home.”

Ling Xi gripped the steering wheel, having lost her appetite for the meal. She pressed her lips together, silent, her anger causing her to speed wildly down the avenue.

“Are you angry at me?” Lin Fangwan cautiously asked. Ling Xi’s attitude was cold: “Let’s find another time to eat. I’ll take you back first.”

“Ling Xi.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry for causing you and Miss Qiao to part ways unhappily.”

Lin Fangwan’s plan was precise, but Ling Xi’s reaction was unexpected. She had thought this incident would make Ling Xi protective of her, but the current cold reaction was disappointing.

Ling Xi braked and parked the car by the side of the road: “Although I don’t know what you two said, hitting someone is wrong. The problem isn’t with you.”

“But…” Lin Fangwan tried to say more, but Ling Xi interrupted her in a timely manner: “I’ll take you back to the hotel first.”

The current Ling Xi carried a cold stubbornness that Lin Fangwan had never seen before. It seemed no one could shake her resolve, so Lin Fangwan could only comply with her wishes.

The car pulled up outside the hotel. Lin Fangwan tried to hold Ling Xi back: “Why don’t you come up for a bit, or we could go to the hotel coffee shop? We should really catch up properly.”

“The studio was burned down, I need to go and see if I can help out in any way.” Ling Xi casually made an excuse. She didn’t want to waste any more time in this relationship that was going nowhere.

“Alright then, drive carefully and be safe.” Lin Fangwan’s eyes were full of sorrow, but she couldn’t force her to stay any longer.

Watching Lin Fangwan get out of the car, Ling Xi didn’t linger, stepping on the gas and hurrying away.

Ling Xi’s mind was a mess, yet she maintained extreme rationality. Perhaps the old her, encountering such a dispute, would definitely have blamed Qiao Bo’er for everything.

Fortunately, things were different now. Ling Xi’s rationality made her more wary.

At that moment, she regretted her overly harsh attitude toward Qiao Bo’er, so she abruptly turned the car around and sped back to the restaurant.

Ling Xi was convinced that seeing was not always believing.

The restaurant manager saw the guest who had just stormed off in anger return and kindly reminded her: “Miss Qin and the others have already left.”

“Manager, is there surveillance in the private room?”

“I apologize, but to protect the guests’ privacy, no surveillance cameras are installed in any of the private rooms.”

The manager tried to stop Ling Xi, but she insisted on going forward: “What about outside? The private room has floor-to-ceiling windows, can the external surveillance see it?”

“Well…” The manager hesitated, but seeing Ling Xi’s determined look, he was afraid she would cause trouble, so he added: “Actually, there is surveillance on the rockery landscape outside the private rooms. But the patrol camera is constantly changing position, so it might not have captured the inside of the room.”

“That means there’s still a chance it was filmed, isn’t there? I want to see what happened in the private room, so I need to check the surveillance. If it’s a hassle, I can pay.”

“That’s not necessary, please follow me.”

Qin Yun, who had seen Qiao Bo’er off, stood in the parking lot waiting for Chu Xi to pick her up.

That familiar figure rushing toward the restaurant entrance easily caught her attention.

Qin Yun quietly followed behind the two, deliberately slowing her pace. She leaned against the door, waiting for the result until they reached the surveillance room.

Although Ling Xi had momentarily let her anger get the better of her and blamed Qiao Bo’er, Qin Yun admired her for what she was doing now.

Because Ling Xi did not take things at face value and chose to investigate further.

The security guard brought up the surveillance footage and played it back repeatedly. Fortunately, after Ling Xi left, the camera had intermittently recorded what happened in the private room.

Although the dialogue between the two couldn’t be heard, Lin Fangwan’s self-mutilating slap was shocking. The truth was revealed so easily.

Ling Xi looked at Lin Fangwan in the video, her face twisted in a ferocious smile that was both unfamiliar and repulsive. She turned her head, unwilling to look any longer.

There was no such thing as a ‘white moonlight’ anymore, only a sickening mess of regret.

To prove the truth to Qiao Bo’er, Ling Xi copied the footage onto her phone.

Her heart was filled with mixed feelings. Clenching her phone, Ling Xi no longer wanted to condemn Lin Fangwan. All her thoughts were focused on how Qiao Bo’er was doing now.

And what way should she use to apologize to that woman?

“You’re not stupid after all.”

Stepping out of the surveillance room, her voice reached Ling Xi before she saw her. Ling Xi looked at Qin Yun in surprise, speechless.

Qin Yun tilted her head, her gaze teasing: “Judging by your expression, you must have uncovered a very exciting truth.”

Ling Xi clutched her phone, stammering: “I need to see Qiao Bo’er.”

“That’s your business.”

“Is it convenient to give me her address?”

Qin Yun certainly knew where Qiao Bo’er was, but she couldn’t tell her, so she deferred: “You’ve broken her heart. To let her be out of sight and out of mind, I suggest you go to the company tomorrow to find her. Bring her favorite ice cream. The effect will be doubled.”

“Or, can we talk?” Ling Xi changed her approach. The suggestion surprised Qin Yun: “What is there for you to talk about with me?”

“Actually, I… don’t really know Qiao Bo’er.”

Qin Yun looked as if she had found a treasure, clapping her hands in astonishment: “You’ve started to be curious about her?”

“It’s not about curiosity, I just want to understand her properly.”

“Stubborn… Let’s go, come over to my house.”

When Chu Xi walked into Qin Yun’s study and saw Ling Xi sitting on the guest sofa, she didn’t smile gently as before, but turned and walked away coldly.

Qin Yun still called her back: “Chu Xi, don’t be impolite.”

Chu Xi sneered, her sarcasm unreserved: “Shouldn’t Vice Professor Ling be off with her old lover, living happily ever after?”

“Secretary Chu, you must be misunderstanding me.”

Ling Xi replied awkwardly. Chu Xi let out another cold laugh: “Misunderstanding? I’m afraid Vice Professor Ling misunderstands the meaning of the word ‘misunderstanding’.”

Chu Xi walked up to Ling Xi and stared at her condescendingly: “Do you know what you look like right now?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You’re like a disabled person with blocked senses, unable to see, unable to hear, unable to perceive how deeply that woman who loves you to the point of being sick is truly devoted.”

Ling Xi wasn’t stupid; she certainly knew Chu Xi was talking about Qiao Bo’er. But she was helpless because, in her perception, she hadn’t felt any deep affection.

“That’s enough! Chu Xi, you go out first.” Qin Yun didn’t want to make things difficult for Ling Xi, so she sent Chu Xi away.

Chu Xi had never disobeyed Qin Yun’s or Qiao Bo’er’s decisions. But this time, she cleverly seized the opportunity, quickly tore a piece of paper from the desk, scribbled an address on it, crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw it at Ling Xi’s face on her own initiative.

“Chu Xi!” Qin Yun scolded angrily, but it was too late to stop her.

Chu Xi turned to her lover, not regretting her action: “I can’t stand Miss Bo’er agonizing like this anymore. Since neither of you will say anything, I’ll be the villain.”

The house was still brightly lit. The owner stubbornly lit the way home for the person she couldn’t have.

Even the glass was superfluous. Qiao Bo’er took a swig directly from the red wine bottle. The half-opened pill box on the table mixed with the alcohol seemed to be pushing her toward death.

The ever-present agony and pain came slowly, making every gulp of wine hard to swallow, yet she didn’t stop.

Qiao Bo’er danced gracefully in the spacious living room. It was as if she was holding the person she yearned for in her arms. Her wandering steps didn’t stop until her steps became wobbly.

The drunkenness made her indulgent. Her cheeks were flushed red, but her crying was a silent downpour.

“Ling Xi…”

“Ling Xi!”

“Ling Xi!!”

“Why won’t you talk to me? Can you please hold me?” Qiao Bo’er called out heartbreakingly, but received no response.

Given the reputation of deep affection, how much must one love someone to fall into such a mad frenzy?

In just a few minutes, several empty red wine bottles appeared on the floor.

Qiao Bo’er picked up another bottle of red wine. What she wanted was a drunken life and dreamlike death, not to endure endless darkness, constantly bathed in tears.

In this bitter world, everything around her was a deathly gray, except for Ling Xi, who was colorful—not even a hint of pale light remained.

With a clinging, drunken smile, Qiao Bo’er, whose legs were weak, walked to the balcony, raised the wine bottle in her hand toward the dark house opposite, and laughed bitterly in despair: “Cheers! To the damn ‘I love you’… I love you…”

Who knows how long passed? So long that the world seemed to have frozen, so long that the full moon was shattered.

As the medication took effect, Qiao Bo’er slumped against the corner of the balcony, tightly curling up her body. The late summer night breeze still carried warmth, so why did it feel so cold? Perhaps it was because her heart was too cold.

Ling Xi clutched the crumpled piece of paper, sitting in her car, wavering.

The address written by Chu Xi made her realize that Qiao Bo’er had been secretly hiding in a corner she had overlooked, hiding for so long.

Exhaling heavily, Ling Xi finally mustered the courage to get out of the car and walk toward the unfamiliar elevator.

The familiar floor and door number. Ling Xi stood in front of the door, hesitating to knock. She knocked mechanically and numbly, again and again, but there was no response.

Looking down at the electronic lock, a string of numbers rushed into her mind, screaming to try it—

“Cut the crap, I’ll only say it once. The code is 7329.”

“7329? Your date of birth?”

“Do I look like a 49-year-old older sister?”

Remembering the happy moments of bickering with Qiao Bo’er, a genuine smile appeared on Ling Xi’s lips.

When she pressed 7329, the electronic lock let out a pleasant chime, which deeply resonated in Ling Xi’s heart.

Instantly, the bright light from inside the room hit Ling Xi’s eyes. Her gaze passed through the living room to the balcony, directly facing her most familiar home.

The person who had lit the way for her on difficult nights had always been Qiao Bo’er, the one who recklessly provoked her, bullied her, and constantly spoke of loving her.

Ling Xi pulled back her thoughts, her throat tight and choking. Her heart ached—it ached for Qiao Bo’er.

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